Authors

Department

Accountancy

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1996

Abstract

Prior research on audit quality reduction acts has generally focused on nonmanagerial personnel in CPA firms. This study gathers perception data on the existence, extent, and possible factors associated with inappropriate partner behavior. A questionnaire addressing these issues was mailed to a national sample of senior managers and partners employed in auditing positions with public accounting firms. A large majority of the respondents had never observed four of the five inappropriate behaviors examined.However, approximately 25 percent of respondents indicated that they had observed one or more instances of inadequate workpaper review. Two economic factors (large client size and the presence of a fixed-fee audit contract) were most strongly associated with GAAP and GAAS violations.